Collard Green Soup
Warm up with a comforting bowl of Collard Green Soup featuring savory Italian sausage, white cannellini beans, and aromatic veggies. This recipe is easy to make any day of the week! Stove-top, slow cooker, and Instant Pot instructions included. Sponsored by WP Rawl.
Are collard greens good in soup? 🤔 If you’ve never tried collard greens in soup, prepare to be pleasantly surprised by this collard green soup with beans and sausage. The hearty combination of Italian sausage, white cannellini beans, and vibrant collard greens creates the perfect nutritious and delicious meal for a cold day.
This recipe is quick and easy to throw together with simple ingredients. While it simmers on the stove, the collard greens become tender and infused with all that rich sausage and bean goodness. You can even toss everything into your slow cooker or Instant Pot for a more hands-off approach. Gotta love hassle-free, healthy food!
Before we get started, let me share a bit about our sponsor. WP Rawl, a family-owned farm from my home state of South Carolina, has been serving up quality greens since the 1920s. For this recipe, I used their Nature’s Greens® collards. They come washed, chopped, and ready to go, saving you time and stress!
Check out their website to learn more and where you can find them near you. Looking for more collard green recipes? You’ll love my Stuffed Collard Greens and Southern Collard Green Recipes.
Recipe highlights
- Inherently healthy. Collard green soup is a powerhouse of protein-packed sausage and fiber-packed white beans and is a satisfying way to enjoy your daily greens.
- Quick and easy. This soup comes together effortlessly on the stove, in a slow cooker, or with an Instant Pot. Just a bit of prep, and you’ll have a hearty meal ready in no time!
- Versatile. You can adjust the seasoning, mix and match veggies, make it spicier, etc., to create a stick-to-your-bones collard soup you’ll return to again and again.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Extra virgin olive oil. Choose a high-quality olive oil to brown the sausage and sauté the veggies.
- Mild Italian sausage. The savory, slightly spicy flavor pairs beautifully with the greens. Feel free to use hot Italian sausage or even a smoky chorizo for a spicier kick. You can buy sausage links and remove the casing or use pre-ground sausage.
- Vegetables. Onion, carrots, and garlic form the flavorful base of your soup. Dice them uniformly for even cooking.
- Chicken broth. Serves as the savory liquid base. I prefer regular broth for the best flavor, but feel free to use low-sodium broth if you’re watching your salt intake. Chicken stock or vegetable broth work well as substitutes.
- Collard greens. I highly recommend grabbing a bag of Nature’s Greens® collard greens for their fresh quality and convenience.
- Green Tabasco sauce. Adds a tangy, mildly spicy kick. If you don’t have Green Tabasco, any hot sauce you like will do. The vinegar in the sauce adds great flavor.
- Balsamic vinegar. A touch of good-quality balsamic vinegar helps balance flavors. If you’re out of balsamic, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can also work.
- Salt and pepper. Essential for seasoning. Taste as you go, especially if you’re using low-sodium broth, as you might need more salt.
- White cannellini beans. AKA white kidney beans. Add creaminess and boost the fiber and protein, making your collard green soup more filling. Canned beans work perfectly –just drain and rinse them well first.
- For serving. I LOVE this soup with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, an extra dash of Tabasco, and crusty baguette dipping for dipping. These finishing touches make the soup even more satisfying.
How to make collard green soup with sausage and beans
Step 1: Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it’s no longer pink. Remove the sausage and set it aside.
Step 2: Sauté the veggies. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic to the same pot and sauté until the onions become soft and fragrant.
Step 3: Combine ingredients. Return the sausage to the pot and add the remaining ingredients, except for the beans.
Step 4: Simmer. Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil. Then, reduce the heat, vent the lid slightly, and let it cook for 20 minutes.
Step 5: Add the beans. Stir in the beans and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Step 6: Serve. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, a dash of extra Tabasco (optional), and a crusty baguette for dipping. Enjoy!
Alternate cooking methods
Here’s how you can make this collard sausage and white bean soup in your slow cooker or Instant Pot pressure cooker:
Slow cooker – Heat oil in a skillet, brown the sausage, then transfer it to your Crockpot. Sauté the vegetables in the same skillet, then add them to the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients, except the beans, cover, and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Add the beans during the last 30 minutes and let them heat through.
Instant Pot – Use the sauté function to heat the olive oil and brown the sausage. Remove the sausage and set it aside. Sauté the onions, carrots, and garlic next, then return the sausage to the pot along with the remaining ingredients, except the beans. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Perform a quick release, then stir in the beans until heated through.
Recipe tips and FAQs
- Prep the greens – If you have a fresh bundle of collard greens, remove the tough stems and cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Even with pre-chopped bag collard greens, removing the tough stems is a good idea, as they won’t become tender. Don’t worry about the smaller, thinner stems. They will soften nicely as the soup simmers.
- Deglaze the pot – Don’t leave the browned bits behind after cooking the sausage and veggies! Deglaze the pot with a splash of broth or dry white wine to incorporate all that extra flavor into your soup.
- Enhance flavor – For an extra depth of flavor, toss a bay leaf or a sprig of thyme or rosemary into the pot while the soup simmers. Just remember to remove it before serving.
Variations
- Vegetarian version – Skip the sausage and make greens and beans soup with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Add more beans or incorporate a plant-based sausage for protein. Opt for animal-rennet-free Parmesan.
- Mix and match the veggies – Use leeks instead of onions or rainbow carrots instead of regular carrots. Extra veggies like diced tomato, potato, zucchini, bell peppers, and mushrooms make great additions, too!
- Go lean – Lighten up your sausage collard green soup by using turkey or chicken sausage instead of pork. These provide the same great flavor with fewer calories and less fat.
- Add cooked grains – Make your soup heartier by adding cooked whole grains like brown rice, wild rice, farro, or quinoa. Add them at the end so they don’t get mushy.
While collard greens are classic, a soup with sausage and white beans is also fantastic with kale, Swiss chard, or even spinach. Each green will bring its own unique texture and flavor.
Absolutely, but they do require a bit more time and preparation. If you use dry beans, you must soak them overnight and cook them separately before adding them to your collard greens soup.
If you don’t have cannellini beans on hand, no worries! Great Northern beans, navy beans, butter beans, or even chickpeas make excellent substitutes in soups. Feel free to experiment with what you already have. Sometimes I’ll add extra beans and do a 15 oz can of cannellini beans and a 15 oz can of navy beans.
Storing and freezing
Storing: Leftovers store well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The flavors meld over time, making the soup even tastier! Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave.
Freezing: Allow leftover collard green soup to cool completely, then portion it into airtight containers, leaving room for expansion, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy it, thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight and reheat it on the stove over medium heat.
More hearty and delicious soup recipes
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Collard Green Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage casings removed (or buy it ground)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 large carrots peeled and chopped (I love to use rainbow carrots for a pop of color)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups chicken broth or chicken stock (I do not use low-sodium for better flavor, but go with your preference)
- 16 oz bag Nature's Greens® collard greens -pick through and remove any large hard stems
- 1 tbsp green Tabasco sauce
- 2 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste (more salt will be needed if you use a low-sodium broth)
- 19 oz can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat olive oil on medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven.
- Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
- Remove sausage from pot and set aside.
- Add carrots, onions, and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes or until onions are soft.
- Add sausage back to the pot and all remaining ingredients, except beans.
- Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, vent lid, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add beans and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with crusty bread or a baguette, for dipping, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and hot sauce.
Notes
- Prep the greens – If you have a fresh bundle of collard greens, remove the tough stems and cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Even with pre-chopped bag collard greens, removing the tough stems is a good idea, as they won’t become tender. Don’t worry about the smaller, thinner stems. They will soften nicely as the soup simmers.
- Deglaze the pot – Don’t leave the browned bits behind after cooking the sausage and veggies! Deglaze the pot with a splash of broth or dry white wine to incorporate all that extra flavor into your soup.
- Enhance flavor – For an extra depth of flavor, toss a bay leaf or a sprig of thyme or rosemary into the pot while the soup simmers. Just remember to remove it before serving.
Nutrition
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